CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
“I’m coming with you.”
Honestly, I’m not even surprised by anything anymore. That Varek has changed his mind and is insisting on joining me and Kael is not typical of him exactly, as I have to hand it to the guy, he’s usually steadfast in his decisions. But?—
“With Zeyv no longer around to cause problems”—my lips twitch despite the gravity of all that’s happened, but beyond Varek rolling his eyes at me, he doesn’t pause—“Shanae can handle things here.”
She steps forwards, lips parting I suspect to argue with our fearless leader. The shake of Varek’s head stops her, though.
“If the library does exist, between us, we can find it.”
Fair point.
“I still don’t know how you have info that Kael doesn’t,” I say, squinting at Varek like I might be able to read the answers off his shimmering purple face.
He simply offers a tight-lipped smile. “You’d be surprised how many secrets come to light when people think no one’s listening.”
Cryptic. Great.I also know that long before he founded this rebel group, he’d been captured by the royal guards and spenttime in the queen’s palace. I just don’t know for how long or what his purpose was. It’s something I know I should never ask. Nor is it anything anyone here really gossips about.
Kael’s fingers brush against mine—subtle, grounding. It’s enough to make my nerves tangle a little looser, but not completely. Because this? This still feels a little like jumping into a firestorm with nothing but a wet rag and good intentions.
I look over my shoulder at Dawson and Aelith. Iris stands between them, her posture rigid but hands gentle as she adjusts the monitoring equipment. Her mate, all mist and menace, lingers nearby like a living shadow. If either of them shifts so much as a toe, I know he’ll be there.
“They’re stable,” Iris says without looking up. “For now. I’ll let you know the moment anything changes.”
That “for now” feels like a blade against my spine. I nod, swallowing past the tightness in my throat.
Solan and Jack arrive, tension written across their faces. Jack’s gaze flicks to me, Kael, then the medical beds. He exhales hard. “We heard what happened. Heard it was bad.”
“It was,” I say, not bothering to sugar-coat it. And whether he’s talking about the fight or the medical status of Dawson and Aelith seems inconsequential. It’s all bad.
Solan steps up beside him, nodding. “We’ll stay here. Watch over them.”
“And Shanae?” Varek says, glancing over at her.
Shanae’s jaw is clenched, her lips slashed in a tight line. She nods, remaining silent—a testimony to just how pissed off at Varek she really is.
“She’ll have backup.” Solan gestures towards the door where the two unconscious bodies are secure.
A beat passes. Kael straightens beside me, his armour whispering against itself as he shifts. There’s steel in his stance now, not just physically but emotionally. He’s made up his mind.“The queen’s healers won’t help. Even if they could, they’d use it as leverage. She’d want something in return.”
“Like her son’s head on a pole,” I mutter.
Kael doesn’t deny it. “What’s happening between Aelith and Dawson is beyond medical science. This is something else. Something… older.”
“Something fated,” Varek says. “Something buried.”
I glance at Kael again, searching his face. “And you really think we’ll find answers in some dusty, maybe-imaginary archive?”
He meets my gaze evenly. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t let you go.” His voice is low, but it strikes with purpose. That does it.
I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face. “All right. Let’s go dig through some ancient scrolls and hope to the terrifying deities of Terrafeara that this isn’t a massive waste of time.”
Kael’s lips twitch. “Your optimism is inspiring.”
“I try.”
